Car Sales in China Jump 20%

Retail sales of passenger vehicles in China surged 20% to 2.2 million units in October, according to the China Passenger Car Assn.

The dealer group says deliveries climbed 15% to 18.7 million units through the first 10 months of 2016.

Carmakers have been hiking sales incentives for months to help drain down inventories of unsold cars. But analysts have been predicting an additional surge as consumers scramble to take advantage of a tax cut currently scheduled to expire at the end of December.

The government is pondering whether to extend the incentive, which applies to vehicles powered by engines that displace less than 1.6 liters.